Many surgical procedures, such as those using cutting elements, generate heat at the surgical site due to friction at the cutting element and bone interface. Irrigation fluids may be introduced to the surgical site to cool the tissue being treated or to cleanse or wash tissue or debris from the surgical area. Some surgical instruments that may be used in these procedures do not have built in irrigation capability. Accordingly, when surgeries requiring irrigation are performed using these instruments, a separate irrigation hose is used and held at the irrigation site. In some instances, the surgeon will hold the surgical instrument with one hand, while holding the irrigation hose with the other hand. Preferably, the surgeon holds the instrument while an assistant holds the irrigation hose. Accordingly, in these instances, the surgeon must hold two instruments or must use an assistant, increasing the complexity of the procedure. In addition, during these procedures, the surgeon may adjust the instrument to best perform the procedure, and the instrument may move in and out of the irrigation stream, potentially resulting in momentary hot-spots and creating variation and inconsistency in cooling.
Since even moderate fluctuations in temperatures can introduce necrosis, surgeons try to direct the irrigation fluid directly at the location that will be most effective in cooling the instrument and the tissue. Some surgical instruments are designed to accept different cutting tools particularly designed for particular applications. Depending on the application, the stage of the surgery, and the particular cutting tool, the surgeon's desired irrigation location may be different relative to the surgical instrument body during the procedure, making even fixed irrigation systems unsuitable when used with incompatible instruments.
The present disclosure is directed to a system that attaches an irrigation tube to a surgical instrument, and that is easily adjustable to modify or redirect the flow of fluid during a surgical procedure. The systems and methods disclosed herein address one or more of the limitations in the prior art.